The present invention pertains to motor vehicles and, more particularly, to a battery-powered vehicle.
Concerns with environmental protection and with our ever increasing dependence upon foreign petroleum sources have, for many years, generated an interest in battery-powered vehicles. This interest has been especially strong in places such as California where many large cities suffer from air pollution at least in part originating from automobile exhaust. In these same cities, traffic congestion often is caused by large numbers of vehicles, many with only a single occupant, idling in the roadway or circling while seeking a parking place.
The majority of designs for battery-powered automobiles have heretofore involved the provision of electric propulsion system in an otherwise conventional automobile body. Because the size, and hence the weight, of these vehicles placed severe demands upon battery capacity, such vehicles have been forced to adopt exotic, expensive or unproven battery technologies or to accept a severely limited operating range. Neither alternative is commercially acceptable.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel lightweight and compact battery-powered vehicle which has a reasonable range between battery charges.
It is also an object to provide such a vehicle which avoids the cost, complexity and technological uncertainty of exotic battery systems and which may also use more exotic battery systems for even longer ranges.
Another object is to provide such a vehicle which is facile to maneuver, can be parked in a small space and occupies a minimum of road space.
Yet another object is to provide such a vehicle which is safe and relatively inexpensive to produce.